Affinity
by Sour Queen
Summary: They were partnership gems, said to create unbreakable bonds of love between two people. It was a Konoha Village tradition to set all matches in under fourteen days. But Naruto's only just turned 17, and he refuses to be tied down to anyone just yet. Even if the match could save the person he came to care about the most. NaruSasu. T.
1. The Soul Destroyer

Affinity

Pairing: NaruSasu

Rating: T

…..

Chapter 1: The Soul Destroyer

He heard that they always do it when you least expect it. For Naruto, it had happened in the middle of his Math Studies I class while his clouded mind was dipping between problem-solving and a deep unconsciousness. They poured in from the front door: six guards dressed in dusty, old suits and a woman with her hair pulled back in a bun so tight, Naruto thought her face could've torn.

They stood in the front of the room, gathering even the attention of the slackers in the upper-back rows. Naruto suddenly jolted upright from his seat, eyes blinking wildly.

The math teacher was violently shoved out of the way, his old and wrinkling body cowering from the ambiguity of the unwanted guests; he would be long forgotten in a few minutes.

"Good afternoon, students of Konoha High," the woman began, her words coated with a thick Italian accent, "Today, you and all of your classmates have the honor of participating in this year's _partnership._"

At this, all the girls in the room erupted in cheers and wild giggles. Most boys either loudly sighed or gasped. But either way, everyone was excited. The _partnership _was the fabled part of high school. It was the tale you heard from your parents when you were only five. It was the dream.

_Figures,_ Naruto thought, _that the hopeless girls would be relieved at the thought of having their love life delivered to them on a silver platter. _

The woman talked aloud and slowly, enunciating every word she spoke. The men standing behind her never moved, their sunglass-covered faces never flinching nor reacting. The excitement in the room bubbled over itself so much so that the woman's warnings weren't even heeded. Hadn't everyone already known the rules about the _partnership_?

Jewels were worn as necklaces; the colors were supposed to be an outlook on the healthiness of your spirit and came in all of the vibrant colors of the rainbow. The necklace colors had individual matches for a person-to-person connection. When the two people met, the necklaces would disappear. The longer a person took to find their match, the more spiritual energy would be released from the necklace to help a person find their 'partner'. The longest the school went before all matches were found was fourteen days.

Naruto himself had heard all kinds of stories. Orange necklaces paired with red or green, black with yellow, gray and black and so on and so forth. He wasn't interested. Not at all.

But he couldn't deny that all thoughts of a mid-day nap disappeared when the six guards walked down the aisles of student chairs and pulled out boxes seemingly from nowhere. They started from the back of the room, much to Naruto's chagrin, as he was in the penultimate row.

The woman cleared her throat to draw the class' attention back to her. "When you receive your gem, place it over your head; it is to be worn as a necklace for its best effects. It is not meant to be worn in any other manner. It is also not to be removed under any circumstance until the individual partnerships have been achieved. If these rules are followed, a long life of happiness may await you."

Naruto watched in a sick fascination as the woman's painted lips curled upward in a smile. He couldn't be sure whether or not it was in appreciation.

He didn't react either when a white-gloved hand oh-so-casually placed a gem attached to a thick band on his desk. It glowed bright neon orange. He chuckled to himself. Figures.

"And the progress of the _partnership _is never to be spoken of, or their will be dire consequences for all involved. That means no gossip, no open conversations and no evidence on the internet. Is that understood? Otherwise, we wish you all the best of the luck in your romantic journeys." The woman concluded and then she stepped out. The gems were all received. The frightened teacher cleared his throat and stepped out from behind his wooden desk, taking a cautious look around the classroom. It was like they had never arrived.

A look to the left and the right brought Naruto even more mild amusement. Choji's was red, Kiba's was green, Sakura's was (naturally) a beautiful blushing pink, and Ino's a deep ocean blue. All the wild chatter and excited talk suddenly peaked when Shikamaru got his green gem. Also immediately, the room was filled with the whirring mystical noises of the gem in his hands.

"I hope my color matches Sasuke-kun's," Sakura said excitedly.

"Me too," Ino joined in, "I bet his color's a blue, just like mine."

"No, no way! It's definitely red!" another girl chimed in.

"He's mysterious! It'll absolutely be a black." said yet another one.

Naruto watched with horror as Shikamaru suddenly bolted upright in his chair, stood, and, with wet and wide eyes, walked to the front of the room where Temari looked at him curiously. With a gentle hand, he cupped her face, and she smiled cautiously.

"Finally," she breathed.

The room was filled with the harmonious colors of green and purple as colored smoke and chunks of gem went flying and dissipated in the air like steam.

Everyone cheered. It was the first matching of the _partnership. _Naruto could not share the same enthusiasm.

* * *

Naruto and all six of his friends minus Shikamaru were silent at the lunch table, though everyone seemed to have retained the ability to eat except for him. Well, at least Choji could. But Naruto himself was way more interested in the dangling ruby red piece of jewelry bouncing animatedly from Choji's neck than the steaming bowl of ramen placed in front of him.

"Hey," Kiba said softly and everyone looked up. Watching. Waiting. "Nothing will change, right? Nothing's supposed to change."

"There's nothing to be afraid of. What, now you're scared of having a girlfriend?" Neji teased, while fingering his own piece of purple jewelry gently. Kiba scowled and opened his mouth to retort until Haku interrupted him.

"I don't think it's anything bad," Haku interjected in his own gentle voice. They had all heard later in the day that Haku's pink found his match with Zabuza's gray. But it wasn't a surprise to anyone. "I'm still here, right?" Naruto thought his smile seemed artificial.

Kiba leaned in slowly. "What was it like, Haku? The whole feeling right before your partnership?" They all leaned in closely, almost as if talking about it would get them into some serious trouble.

Haku sighed, a blush on his cheeks. "It was like my whole body warmed up like a fever, but my head was perfectly clear. I couldn't hear, see, or feel anything else. Just him. It was like my whole world narrowed itself down to one person. The person. Him." He smiled, and sighed dreamily again. The response seemed to please everyone, who immediately began firing off rounds of questions about the _partnership. _

Gaara was the first to back up in disgust. He gently touched the black gem attached to his neck. Naruto looked at him from the corner of his eye. To him, it almost looked as if the gem belonged on the young red-head's neck. It fit his look so perfectly. Naruto had always admired his friend Gaara for his looks, even if the reasons were sometimes confusing even to Naruto. Gaara was comforting when things got troubled. And things had definitely gotten troubled.

"Hey," Naruto whispered, so that the rest of his friends wouldn't break away from Haku's story, "Are you alright?"

He waited patiently for Gaara to answer. It wasn't unlike him, Naruto noted, for Gaara to deeply ponder his answers before responding to any question, and usually Naruto would make a joke out of it. But today for some reason, this just wasn't a day for joking.

"I'd like to be able to choose." Gaara replied, sending tingles all over Naruto's body when their eyes connected. He'd always been entranced by Gaara's blue-green eyes. "If I had to fall in love so early, I would like to choose who it would be. I'm not afraid of it, maybe—"

Here, Gaara paused to lick his lips.

"I may be disappointed."

Naruto searched his face and replied quietly, "Disappointed?"

At this, Gaara stood suddenly, looking out into the lunchroom filled with the happy seniors, inquisitive freshmen, nosy sophomores, and the excited juniors. The whole table's chatter shut off, and all eyes were on him. Naruto swallowed thickly with a strange feeling blossoming in his chest from the intense gaze he was receiving from his closest friend. But he'd like to believe that was just the _partnership gem _talking.

Gaara looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye. "Haven't you noticed your gem hasn't disappeared yet either?"

It wasn't until the redhead was well out of earshot that Kiba snorted and said, "Keh, he thinks he's so cool. That was just his punk-ass way of confessing. You don't need to be paired up to a mysterious guy like him." Even Neji half-smirked.

Naruto rolled his eyes. _That's just the thing, I feel like I do. It's so much safer._

Maybe he'd give eating his lukewarm ramen a shot after all.

What do you think? It's attack of the plot-bunnies late night version. I'm gonna die unless I get this idea out. I plan to get real intense and angsty on you guys in the next chapter. I think you'll like it. Well, at least, I hope you will. Give me your thoughts on the first chapter? Please review!


	2. Life Meshing

Affinity

…..

_a/n: would you guys even believe me if i told you that this prompt idea came from a dream i had between me and this boy i've been in love with for a super long time? i heard it's come up before in actual literature; had no idea. still think i'm cool now? hah._

….

Chapter 2: Life Meshing

When Naruto went home that first night, he did some research. He wasn't allowed to talk about it, but he figured it couldn't hurt to learn about it either. He learned the gems were found down in the _Alma River_. It was a fabled, mystical river said to look like a flowing rainbow stream. The gems 'came' from outer-space, some meteoroid that crashed just on the outskirts of Konoha boundaries thousands of years ago, right into the river. Everything about that place was supposed to be special, but it was too heavily guarded for any individual person to go and see it themselves.

The tradition itself was only about two-hundred years old, done first with young adults and then moved down to teenagers just in high school. Naruto himself has just made the cut by becoming seventeen two months beforehand. Otherwise, he would have been spared the torment. And in all honesty, it could only be called torment because of what Naruto found to happen at the end.

If one waited too long, the gem caused severe illness, most often leading to death.

Naruto tried to find more information. It led him to some third-party Q&A website, but didn't give exact information. He was about to give up when a chat box nearly froze his computer by popping up; an anonymous user sent a simple question.

_How many days?_

Naruto didn't hesitate to type back. _Three days in._

A pause.

_16. Good luck._

Sixteen? Sixteen more days? The news didn't settle well in Naruto's stomach. But the evidence was hard to ignore. There was no escaping. The gem swung around on his neck when he practiced basketball, or when he showered, or when he lay in his bed and watched his ceiling until sleep took him. There was no more complete darkness to envelop him anymore. Everything was a slow burning orange ember. It made sleep that much harder for him.

School wasn't a relief either. If someone wasn't talking about who the latest person was to find their partner, that person most likely had just found their partner. They were into the second day when Kiba found his partner. In a rush to get to class, he just bumped into Hinata Hyuuga and that was all it took.

If there was one thing Naruto was learning about his situation quickly, it was that the gems create an unbreakable bond. And that made Naruto nervous.

Although he had been seeing less of his dog-loving friend, he'd been seeing more of Gaara. But even he couldn't deny the strange coincidence of it all, and yes, Naruto did find him attractive and wanted to like him. But even though he found himself inexplicably unable to, Gaara still was the only escape he had for the moment. Someone who understood what was going on in the school was complete madness, someone who understood just how _dangerous _falling in love could be.

"It's stealing willpower, man, I'm telling you," Naruto said, taking another deep swig of his soda bottle. Gaara's mouth twitched upward slightly, but said nothing.

After burping, Naruto touched his necklace and his face grew soft. "I feel like, I feel like it's already starting to pull me. I can really feel it, you know? In the pit of my belly whenever I walk through the hallways, my stomach feels hot. My fingers go numb..."

Gaara nodded silently.

"And it makes me nervous," Naruto continued, "Nervous because I don't know what it is and nervous because I just can't make it stop. I'm not...not..." He looked up at Gaara with pleading blue eyes, the sentences falling and dying on the tips of his tongue.

"You aren't ready for love yet." Gaara finished, shifting his body direction to fully face Naruto, as he gently took the soda bottle from Naruto's hands. As Gaara inched closer, Naruto felt the warmth in his stomach dissipate and he liked that. In a moment of weakness, both of Naruto's arms latched themselves around the slim redhead's figure, and his face buried itself as deep as it could in a leather jacket.

Gaara sighed and gripped Naruto's arms. "I'm not either."

"Not what?" Naruto sniffled.

"Not ready for...love." Gaara's face wrinkled up at the word. Naruto peered up from the jacket and chuckled softly at Gaara's face. It was the timing of it all—the locked gaze, the radiating heat from Gaara's hands, the idea of rebellion from the cursed gems that made Naruto go weak.

"You think it's unfair these people will force you to become attached to someone."

"Yes."

"Because you are yourself, you don't need love for that."

"Yes."

"And what I'm saying is, I'm not either. I don't need it either." Gaara's face grew serious as he grabbed the base of Naruto's chin, forcing him upwards. "I want other things,"

"Other things?" Naruto echoed, eyes fluttering shut at the increasing proximity of their faces. Gaara was going to kiss him. He wanted it, god, he really did want it. But the heat, the passion, it was gone. All gone.

Gaara pressed his lips against Naruto firmly, kissing in such an expert fashion that Naruto let out an immediate groan, parting his mouth open and welcoming the sensation of Gaara's tongue against his. It would've been right. It should've, Naruto swore, but because of _this_…

They broke apart with a deep sigh. Naruto had never seen so much color in Gaara's face. He looked so conflicted, but there was no excitement. The gem took everything.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." Naruto echoed again, inching back to his seat and away from Gaara's lap, embracing his soda bottle like a baby. They shared equally disappointed smiles.

_Damn these gems. _

* * *

He didn't get his first 'actual' gem feeling until six days after the initial commencement of the _partnership. _He was in the bathroom, finishing up at the urinal, when _he _came in. He didn't notice Naruto, but there was no way that Naruto would not see, or at least not notice him. Who wouldn't? He was Sasuke Uchiha.

_Sasuke Uchiha with the pale face, dark eyes, small hands, and soft thin lips..._

Naruto had never recognized these things before, but the very sight of Sasuke walking in seemed to seize his heart and start it beating wildly. It made thinking very hard. Awkwardly, he kept his head down and rushed over to the sink to wash his hands as quickly as possible. He saw from the corner of his eye Sasuke's body considerably stiffen upon entering before he casually walked over to the urinal.

Naruto's whole face flushed as he watched the hot water turn his fingertips pink. The soap smelled of stale lilac flowers but his hands still felt clammy. He was acutely aware of Sasuke being quick to use the bathroom and coughing an awful lot the entire time.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. That was noisy, sick-person coughing.

In the bathroom mirror, Naruto's blue eyes peered into Sasuke's as the dark-haired boy turned and approached the sink beside him and began washing his hands normally. It was hard for Naruto to agree with that-everything about Sasuke's presence was like a switch that had just been turned on in his head. The proximity of him was releasing bottled pressure in his head. Naruto shook his head and turned the water up even hotter, burning the skin on his hands to bring him back to focus.

Curiosity itched up his spine and he gave a cursory glance at Sasuke to find the brunette's nimble fingers turning on the faucet and his face frown slightly from the intense heat the water splayed on his hands. And then suddenly, a scowling Sasuke looked up to meet Naruto's gaze in the bathroom mirror.

Naruto had never seen such intense eyes.

Suddenly, he couldn't move, it was as if all his limbs had gone numb. This was the numbness Haku was talking about on the first day, and Kiba on the second.

This...this was it. _He _was it.

As Naruto was sure Sasuke was about to make a scathing comment, the brunette had a sudden coughing fit that sounded horrible to Naruto's ears. He immediately placed his hand on Sasuke's back, and realized instantly his own foolish mistake. It was like something closed up in his throat, smothering him in the deep onyx eyes that stole his oxygen. The lack of air had painful heat light up his face in seconds. Goosebumps coated his arms and he'd gone mad. Everything was Sasuke, Sasuke, _Sasuke..._

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. "You—"

But Naruto was long gone, running down the hallway with an extreme stomach pain. The loud slam of the bathroom door behind him caused only a slight disturbance in the classroom next door, all unaware of the dangerous situation Naruto just discovered. But he knew.

The color of Sasuke's gem was white.

* * *

Dressed only in loose pajama pants, Naruto disregarded the blinking red alarm clock flashing '2:12 am', and the fact that his alarm would ring to go off in only four more hours. The ceiling had somehow become a more comforting task than actually sleeping. All dreams lead to the same pale face and dark eyes.

In all honesty, Naruto concluded, he shouldn't have been surprised. But what made the _partnership_ even worse than the idea itself was that he now knew he was paired up with someone he didn't even really know. He couldn't even be sure that Sasuke knew the truth about Naruto yet. Naruto had spent all of his late night hours trying to remember ever coming across a Sasuke Uchiha, and, other than catching pieces of Sakura's conversations, he couldn't remember anything but his name.

After hours, he could only remember two different occasions he had ever interacted with the cold Uchiha.

They were both children the first time. He remembered being in the same kindergarten class as Sasuke and seeing him spend a lot of time alone during recess or after school. Naruto liked to spend lunch time chasing other boys around and playing kickball. He had accidentally kicked the ball out of the school bounds and it ended up hitting Sasuke in the back, knocking him to the ground. He apologized, of course, but the young brunette had only snarled at him and said, "Watch where you throw things, idiot!" and stomped off to brood somewhere else.

Naruto smiled softly to himself. Even then, Sasuke was still such an ass.

The second time was when he was fourteen. He was pumped about getting his first job at some dusty old coffeehouse that only had about twelve customers a day. He remembered Sasuke coming in and ordering something stupid—an espresso, maybe—and frowning when Naruto had suggested he buy something to go along with it.

"I hate sweets," Sasuke dead-panned, hardly giving Naruto any eye contact as he reached for his wallet.

"Oh really?" Naruto answered sarcastically, "And here I was thinking a princesses like you had to eat a least a few cakes a day to remain so pleasant."

He half-believed Sasuke almost cracked a smile at the joke as he paid for his beverage, and left shortly thereafter.

But that was it. There was no recollection of Sasuke anywhere else. Naruto turned on his side in the bed, huffing loudly. He couldn't be with someone he didn't know. Or even less, someone he was sure he didn't like. It meant that Naruto was going to ride this partnership game out to the end, without Sasuke. There was no possible way Sasuke would want to partner with him anyway.

But even with those thoughts, Sasuke's face was in the back of his mind. For a guy he barely knew, he already agreed that the hype about him was accurate. Naruto had never laid eyes on a guy that looked quite like him. Sasuke could be defined as someone with natural aesthetics, even in the little things. Naruto could remember the thick eyelashes over his eyes or healthy pink color of his lips when he frowned, the pure whites of his eyes when confusion adorned the boy's face...

Naruto shook his head, desperate to make the heat coiling in his belly to fade away. How hopeless this whole thing had become.

_Everything about this game is unfair. It sets you up to fail, right from the beginning._

No game should ever have a loser's consolation prize be someone as potentially worthy as Sasuke Uchiha. Even if he didn't like the guy, he shouldn't be with someone he couldn't stand. The feeling was probably mutual; it had to be.

With that thought in mind, Naruto's eyes fluttered shut. _It had to be._

* * *

It was 'Day Ten' at Konoha High and, surprisingly, not too many partnerships had been made just yet. Naruto was grateful for the lag in romantic hook-ups; it gave him time to think about other things. He had been extra careful around the school to avoid Sasuke or anything that had to do with him. Even his name mentioned had the power to make Naruto's skin crawl.

It didn't stop though. With each day passing, the gem's powers got stronger and he started physically _feeling _when Sasuke was near; his palms would get clammy, his face would break out in a sweat, and an invisible heat would make his head feel dizzy. But on this day, another symptom reared its ugly head.

Whenever the gem felt like teasing, Naruto experienced stomach pains. It was like someone's hand was inside his gut, twisting organs ever so slightly. He even had to wonder if anyone else was experiencing pain because of not meeting their beau yet, but he didn't even want to talk about it. No one needed to know about it. To Naruto, the _partnership_ needed to not exist.

This was something he felt as though he could acutely discuss with Gaara and be understood. So, instead of sitting at the lunch table with his friends, he went up out to the courtyards to see if he could find his redheaded friend eating lunch alone.

It took a bit of searching; Gaara wasn't in his usual spot on the steps outside the front of the school. And when Naruto finally did spot his friend, he wasn't alone. Gaara was pinning Sakura Haruno against one of the cherry blossom trees. Even he could see that Sakura looked anything but happy, angry and frightened, maybe. Naruto frowned, picking up his pace so he could hear better what was going on.

"It can't be, no, it couldn't..." Sakura trailed off, clutching at her chest suddenly.

"It is."

"You—shut up! S-Stop trying to scare me! I want to leave."

Gaara teasingly pulled on a lock of her bright-colored hair. "I bet you want to kiss me."

She hissed at him, scowling, "Never."

Upon approaching the scene, Naruto saw Gaara frown. "..It hurts you too, doesn't it?"

It took a moment for the girl to respond, but eventually, she averted her gaze and nodded limply.

"Where?"

"My chest..." she groaned, closing her eyes temporarily. When she re-opened them, they contained a new blazing fire. "But it doesn't matter, I'll live. I'm waiting for Sasuke; it's probably him."

"But it isn't." He paused, and then Gaara's frown deepened. "I don't want it to be you."

"I don't want it to be you!" Sakura snapped, her face turning red from all her anger. "You hardly know me! You walk alone and you act lonely! How could you ever grow to care about me, huh? And now you're telling me...you're telling me that all this time it's...it's...been you..." Her face fell suddenly.

At this, Gaara's face softened. "I'm not telling you anything. I'm not exactly full of joy myself either. You think I'm just waiting to pick you up bridal style and carry you off? You're loud, annoying and spoiled. Your eyes aren't blue and your hair isn't blonde. You aren't my perfect idea of a mate either." He spat warmly, his eyes narrowing at her. Sakura glared back, challenging him. Naruto held his breath—_did he mean me just now?_―and waited for the next moment.

He stayed silent as her face began to contort into an expression of pure pain and grief. Naruto watched sadly as tears welled up in Sakura's eyes and spilled down her face.

"I w-wuh-waited all this time...a-and it was y-you...and I d-don't want it to be...I wanted to b-be h-hah-happy..." She hiccupped, moving her small hands to grip the front of his shirt and, if anything, pulling him closer to her. Gaara blinked slowly but reacted, even going as to put a cautious hand on the small of her back.

He leaned down to her ear, causing Naruto to strain to hear it. "Do you feel it?"

She hiccupped and then nodded. "I felt it all week. When you'd look at me...the heat in my chest…I feel it now; I k-know it's you...do you too?"

"Unfortunately." She stared at him for a while, probably waiting to see if he was kidding or not, and then broke out into a silly grin, despite all her tears. He smirked back in return, and embraced her even as she buried her face in his chest and heaved loud sobs.

"It'll be okay..." Gaara murmured as the distant crack of two gems fading away from existence grew louder. The slow rising colored smoke of black and pink didn't make the scene any prettier either, in Naruto's opinion.

He only stared at the scene hopelessly until he remembered this was something private, and then backed away slowly, gulping down all his impending shouts and screams. What the _partnership_ did was horrible. It forced people together in the strangest of ways, creating bonds that needed to be severed. The game had stolen someone from Naruto that he could've actually seen himself with in the future; and that could never happen. Gaara belonged to Sakura now whether Gaara wanted to be or not.

_Like chattel..._

It made him shiver inwardly. Aimlessly, Naruto's limp legs carried him back through the courtyard and in the front building doors. He had almost forgotten where he was until he saw the distinct spiking of hair down the main hall he had just entered. Naruto left the building in a full sprint. Today was a day that should be spent at home.

* * *

The sky was freckled with small, puffy clouds on Day Twelve as Naruto and his friends instead sat to eat outside of the building, in the cherry blossom garden courtyard. It wasn't very settling to Naruto, as every time he looked over and saw the budding stand-alone trees, he would inwardly shiver and remember Gaara and Sakura. The entire thing was very awkward for him now, as Sakura had taken to following Gaara around, and even invited herself to sit at the table.

It didn't matter much; Naruto's friends suddenly multiplied as everyone found their matches. He found that he rather liked Temari, Gaara's sister. Her soft face and blue-green eyes were betraying of her brash personality, but Naruto noticed that he'd never seen Shikamaru more content. They made a good couple, ss did Haku and Zabuza.

Kiba, on the other hand, did a complete one-eighty in attitude. Although Hinata was often busy with her extracurricular activities, when she did have time to eat with them, it left Kiba a flustered, stuttering mess. It was surprising for Naruto to see his friend so utterly helpless and vulnerable in the hands of the shiest person he had ever met. Naruto hated to agree that their matching was also well placed. But he still thought not all of them got to be.

"Gaara! Drinking soda is bad for you. Here, try some aloe juice." Sakura flipped hair over her shoulder and offered her neon green, leafy drink to him. Gaara scowled, and lifted his can of soda to take a purposeful drink.

She scoffed, "Asshole. I was only trying to be nice."

"Mm," he responded, looking in any other direction. It made Naruto roll his eyes. As much as they fought and bickered the entire time, only a fool could miss Gaara's hand wrapped tightly around her waist as they sat together. It was progress, at least. For a moment, Gaara turned and his eyes locked on Naruto's. Gaara had given him a small smile.

It was strangely heart-breaking.

Choji's eyes nervously darted back and forth. "Uhh, so guys...? Has anyone seen Neji yet?"

This made Naruto perk up, remembering that he hadn't yet seen his intelligent and quiet friend. "No, I haven't yet. I wonder where—"

"There he is," Temari spoke, cutting Naruto off. Her words came out jumbled from it being stuffed with salad bits.

Yes, Naruto agreed. There he was, but not alone. He, like everyone else was left flabbergasted as the stoic Neji approached the table with a giggling blonde girl on his arm.

As they approached, she wasted no time, deliberately pushing Naruto aside in order to make room at the table. "Hey, everyone; I'm Ino, though, I'm sure you know," she said, sending pointed stares at Shikamaru and Choji. Her eyes narrowed, however, when they saw Sakura.

"Oh, Sakura, you too? I'm so glad you found your partner. Too bad you couldn't have what you wanted though, right?" She grinned. If Sakura had deflated from her words, she didn't show it. She and Gaara shared mutual placid stares.

Kiba coughed awkwardly. "So, uh...what's this?"

"We were working on something this morning and the gems went off." Neji said, as if the matter was trivial. He took the can of soda Ino was carrying in her hand and opened it to take a sip. She smiled at him fondly.

"Yeah," Ino agreed. "It was like fate, but without the music, you know? I'll be honest though, I was kinda surprised my gem broke from being around Neji. Lucky we're science partners. What an odd pairing, don't you think? I mean, I hardly know him, or...any of you," she paused to look around the table. The next part came out jumbled and quick. "But, we have a lot in common! I like him-at least-I think I do. So, I hope everyone is okay with me being around..."

Naruto grinned at the similar looks of embarrassment on the new couple's face. "Hey, if anyone can tame a Hyuuga, they're okay with me," she grinned back.

Sakura frowned.

As the table's chatter eventually melted back into normalcy, Naruto was able to retreat from the conversations. He wanted to think about his own situation and whether he could accurately guess if Sasuke would even be okay being with someone like him, but the stomach aches were intense today. It stifled his ability to even make a decision. Even so, he doubted he could make a good one anyway. With Gaara, he was sure that things would be ruined. But with Shikamaru, and Kiba, and now Neji acting so unperturbed by this, it all had gotten—

"...sooo complicated. But, whatever. So, did you find your partner yet, Naruto?" Sakura asked, with a friendly smile. The question was enough to make Naruto frown and shake his head negatively.

Kiba burped aloud, fanning the air. "What? And you're not sure who it is?"

"Is it a cute girl?" Ino joined in, leaning forward on her rosy elbows.

"What is this, twenty-one questions?" Naruto frowned, grabbing his backpack protectively.

"Jeez, we're just asking, don't get your panties twisted. Good luck to whoever is supposed to deal with that for the rest of their lives," he snorted with a laugh.

Temari frowned. "Cool it, dog boy. You aren't funny."

Naruto stood up silently, avoiding Gaara's inquisitive look. "He sure as hell isn't."

He left, deciding that a trip to the nurse for some aspirin would do him better than watching all his former friends become engrossed in their relationships. The table was too full anyway; there was little room left for singles.

* * *

The hospital room was by far the coolest room in the building. It was also the second largest, with rows of beds and cabinets full of medicine the students never need. The windows were always open and even the breezy white curtains that billowed around them made the whole place look cooler than it was. Naruto wasn't even aware he was sweating until he stepped inside the room and felt his body chill.

He smiled warmly when the nurse turned around with a surprised look on her face. "Hi Miss Shizune. Is Tsunade around?"

The dark haired woman smiled. "I'm sorry—you just missed her; she went on an errand." Here, she coughed awkwardly and Naruto gave her a knowing look. "But, I can help you. What seems to be the problem?"

"My stomach's been hurting a couple days now," Naruto replied flippantly, taking a few steps and propping himself up on Tsunade's desk counter. Shizune looked up at him.

"Aah. Well, I have some generic medicine somewhere for that. Be right back." Shizune stood up and walked briskly down the walkway, disappearing from Naruto's sight. After a few seconds of boredom, Naruto hopped off the counter and sauntered to the nearest bed. The least he could do for himself was lie down until he felt better.

He lay on his back and adjusted himself on the rough white sheets. Naruto plead Shizune would hurry; he wanted to do no thinking. It seemed the longer he waited, the more intense his stomach pains became, sending hot tingles throughout his body that—

Something struck him and he turned his head to the left. And sure enough, there was Sasuke Uchiha wrapped up in the itchy hospital blankets, sleeping peacefully.

It was Naruto's initial reaction to hop out of the bed and made a run for it. But after getting up in a noisy hurry, he noticed that Sasuke had yet to stir from his sleep. He was relieved of that, not being sure what he'd do if Sasuke were to open his eyes. Yet, the more he stared at Sasuke's parted lips and slow rising chest the more it made him wanted to step closer, even if only a bit. The white gem around Sasuke's neck reflected light and looked so appropriate surrounded in a room of white things. Though the pillows did Sasuke no justice; he looked even paler.

He got as far as the edge of the bed, marveling at how Sasuke had yet to stir from the noise. Naruto figured that even without the situation, if he and Sasuke had formally met on a different occasion, he still would have thought the brunette pretty-beautiful, even. He fingered his own gem and wondered. If he wasn't being forced, would he have...?

He reached out to touch Sasuke's gem. "Would I have..."

"Uh, I found them Naruto." Shizune said directly behind him, causing the boy to jump. He spun around and found a lightly blushing Shizune holding a small pill bottle. He didn't like the mischievous gleam in her eye.

Naruto stammered. "I-I was just..."

"It's alright," She held her hands up in defense and Naruto wondered for a moment if this happened often enough. She peered past Naruto to look at Sasuke's sleeping form. "He was feeling pretty out of it today. Poor kid. His asthma just keeps getting worse."

Naruto's eyes widened. _Asthma? _"He's...uh, he's had it this whole time?"

She nodded and walked over to the desk, popping open the pill bottle in the process. "Oh yeah. Sasuke's always been a sick child, but kept his symptoms in check. It only started getting worse this week." She shook her head sadly and tapped the bottle until two pills spilled out into her hand.

Naruto's eyes widened. _Getting worse because of the partnership, she means. Because of me. _His eyes were torn between watching Shizune as she filled a small plastic cup with water from the fountain and the unmoving Sasuke. When she brought the medicine over for him to take, he disregarded the cup.

She shrugged and drank it herself. With a satisfied sigh she walked back over to the desk and sat in the spiral chair. "Give it a couple minutes. You're welcome to stay if you want to."

Naruto pulled a chair up beside Sasuke's bed, and gave the dark haired boy a soft look. Hesitantly, he touched the edge of the bed, careful not to brush up against him.

"Yeah...I'll stay."

* * *

_i made errors. i know i did, me editing by myself is just awful. i need a new beta. if you catch one, let me know? & please review!_


	3. Heart Wrenching

Affinity

Pairing: NaruSasu

Rating: T

…..

_a/n: when i had nothing to do all day, i found that it was much easier to think of things to say in this story. now that my work has already begun, it's gotten a bit tougher. but, i'm still here! and thank you to all who reviewed on the last chapter, that was really great, and i'm so happy to see that this topic is interesting to you all!_

….

Chapter 3: Heart Wrenching

Naruto had taken to staying deep within the garden of the school, eating his lunch under the trees and then hiding under bushes, being sure that the only thing heard was the incessant flapping of butterfly wings. This was the only way he could sure to never run into Sasuke purposefully, and to avoid the questions of his inquisitive friends, who were growing in numbers each day. He had been doing this for days, avoiding all calls about double dates.

Today, he was crouched under a large bush, eyes squinting as he watched Neji and Ino lay out unprotected on the grass, enjoying lunch and each others company. The sun was shining and insects were everywhere, Naruto shouldn't have been as surprised as he was that some couple would want to take advantage of it.

He watched Neji roll Ino over to her back. She stroked and entwined her fingers in his hair.

"Kiss me, kiss me," she teased him.

Neji didn't. He was having more fun teasing her and running his hands all over her body.

Naruto's face flooded with sudden heat as he imagined his own hands running over someone else's body. He gave an audible sigh, and began crawling on his hands and knees back out of the bush.

* * *

The ceiling fans in the nurse's room were on full swing, providing warm gales of wind to breeze through the office. The first thing Naruto noticed upon entering was that Sasuke's hair was brushing right across his cheek, spreading itself across a pale palette.

He smiled initially upon seeing Tsunade scribbling furiously at her desk, head hunched over her papers. The smile disappeared suddenly when she looked up and sent him an exasperated glare.

"I—" She held a hand up, effectively silencing him.

"Whatever. I don't know, and I don't wanna know. Shizune told me you're having one of your episodes again. Do me a favor and watch the desk while I run to the back, alright? I need a drink." She didn't wait to hear a respond as she threw her pen uncaringly to the floor and stood up out of her chair.

Naruto's grin slowly returned. "You're not allowed to drink at school."

"I won't tell if you won't." She spoke evenly without turning around.

He watched her retreating back fade away until he was sure she was out of sight and sound. He placed his backpack on the bed opposite of Sasuke and walked over. As the days passed he's gotten bolder about how close he could get to Sasuke. After interrogating Shizune, he found out the medication he takes to calm his body down induced a deep kind of sleeping. Something Naruto felt was justly deserved, judging from Sasuke's always tired eyes and creased brow. Even so, he was still extremely handsome.

Naruto's lips turned upward as he did his daily close examination of Sasuke, admiring all the little things. The taut skin stretched over Sasuke's clavicles, the narrowness of his nose, down to the icy blue visible veins running down his arms. He counted three small brown moles on Sasuke's left hand. One of his index, one on the bottom of his middle, and one small one on his—

Sasuke's hand suddenly twitched and Naruto visibly jumped back nearly three steps. No sooner than that did Sasuke's mouth pull itself together for speech.

"Mm...hmm?"

In his haste, Naruto's feet clumsily bumped into any and everything as he backtracked his way from Sasuke, and hid behind the hospital curtains a bed away from him, sloppily covering everything but his shoes. But he had failed to do this quietly, and so Sasuke shot out of bed, alarmed?

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded, staring intently at Naruto's shoes. From the thin shield of the curtain, he could see the outline of Sasuke's figure, but nothing else. The gem started to pulsate softly, and he said nothing.

After a rustling moment, Sasuke sighed angrily. "I can see you, you idiot." Again, Naruto dissented not to speak back, and watched in horror as Sasuke began shuffling to get out of bed.

"N-No, please, don't get up!" Naruto shouted, effectively stilling the glaring boy for a pregnant pause. When Sasuke continued to move out of bed, Naruto squirmed and repeated himself. Eventually, Sasuke's shoulders slacked and he fell back into bed.

"Tell me who you are." Sasuke repeated roughly.

Naruto's shoes squeezed as he inched himself over, praying Tsunade's drink would end so she could come back. "I...I'm, uh...a guy."

Sasuke's voice came back annoyed, and with little inflection. "A guy?"

Inwardly, Naruto squeaked from the feeling of intimidation radiating from Sasuke, sick or not. The gem was now warmed right to action, and was working rapidly on making him breathless. He had to get out of there.

"...Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"Maybe." Naruto replied breathily, speaking honestly in the moment while denying himself the urgent need to cough until his lungs could be filled with oxygen again. He watched Sasuke's figure shift, and eventually ease itself into the sheets.

Sasuke turned his head to the far away window, and mumbled so low Naruto would have missed it had he not been paying attention.

"Hn. It feels like I do..."

After saying this, Sasuke erupted into a fit of coughing and spluttering for air for a full minute that unknowingly sprung tears for in Naruto's eyes as he listened in distress. He was thankful that Tsuande's heels were clapping against the floor hurriedly and reached Sasuke. He was even more thankful for the power in his legs that drove him to sprint out of the room while Sasuke was distracted.

But he had caused Sasuke's asthma to attack again. And in his fear of him, practically left Sasuke to struggle for air on his own. He wiped at his eyes while running down the hall like a madman, faintly aware the school bell had been ringing in his ears. School was now over.

* * *

It was exactly eleven thirty-two when Naruto willingly allowed his mind to drift back to Sasuke, and the gem did a weird vibration thing against his chest. He was resting on his bed, back to watching the ceiling again. He spent more of the day ignoring homework and trying to find concealed information about the gem's, but most of it led him nowhere; and he was running out of days.

He could tell because his symptoms were getting worse, and it was going to be nearly impossible for Naruto to even catch sight of Sasuke or he'd lose the game. He himself was breathless and in stomach pains the entire time, and it didn't fade until he left school grounds. Obviously Sasuke's attacks had, in part, had to do with him. He was lucky for the curtains; if Sasuke had seen him and made the connection between him and the gem, he was sure Sasuke would all but drag Naruto into a partnership. The thought was, admittedly, starting to bring a smile to his face. For all his work in trying to avoid Sasuke, he was learning more about the brunette, and not disliking immediately what he was finding out. If they had met as friends first, Naruto probably would've clung to him.

But all that thinking was useless now. Naruto was still berating himself for hesitating to help Sasuke. He didn't even call for help, regardless of whether or not he was feeling ill himelf. The gem was putting a fear in Naruto that had never been there before, and he was beginning to feel consumed. Since when had he become a heartless person? At the very least, Sasuke deserved better than that.

What he wanted to do was rush to his side...and maybe embrace him. And that sudden confession was what scared him the most.

Absently thinking on this, the desire to touch Sasuke's flushed skin and silence his sickness with a genuine concern, Naruto smiled to himself. Maybe the brunette would smile at him for that.

_...Don't I know you from somewhere?_

_Feels like I do..._

He gently touched his bottom lip, before pulling it in to bite, and he wished to himself that they had never had the unfortunate fate to cross paths.

* * *

Naruto thought Kakashi-sensei was acting rather funny today.

Granted, Kakashi-sensei was always a weird looking and acting man, but he was so noticeable with it that Naruto was actually starting to feel unnerved. With his masked face and shiny gray hair, even his cheery attitude wasn't enough to keep his students from fearing him. As for Naruto, it was difficult enough to sit in the fourth row of the classroom and pretend to be paying attention while simultaneously staring at the window. But Kakashi's attitude was just too blaring to notice anything else.

At least, to him.

Kakashi had never before in his life asked Naruto to answer a question on the board. Naruto doesn't do literature, he hasn't since school has started. They were only chapters away from finishing their third book, _Jane Eyre, _and Naruto hadn't read a single of page of it. Everyone knew that, especially Kakashi. But today he asked three different questions on it. And it was the questions themselves, asking about what he thought about things, or his opinions. Strange questions.

Kakashi stalked the front of the room slowly, pronouncing each word with a deep emphasis, "The symbol Bronte has Adele bring to Jane's attention is a direct foreshadowing, of the next few chapters regarding the relationship between Jane and Rochester. The lightning storm, the flashing of bright light or an extreme flame, and then it splits a century old tree, down the middle, leaving it in halves. Almost as if Bronte had no real plans to continue a romance story between the main characters, she divides them before they are even united. There is no chance for a romance story. The reality of it all becomes to hard to ignore or dissuade."

Naruto's ears picked up each word with a strange attentiveness, but his mind force him to notice other things in the room, like Shikamaru's drooping head, the slowly moving clouds covering the sunshine outside, the silent ticking of the clock above the chalkboard, or even Kakashi's erotic novel floating back and forth in the older man's hand.

"But enough of this Uzumaki," Kakashi called suddenly, his eyes peering over the textbook in his hand. "What symbols have been standing out for you from reading this chapter?"

"Um, none." The class began to chuckle.

"None?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, and called out from his seat, "I didn't read the chapter."

"Tonight, then?"

As if finally at his wit's end, Naruto slammed both hands onto the table, even effectively waking Shikamaru from his light slumber when he shouted, "I don't _have_ the book!" And on cue, the bell rung, releasing a bunch of happy students into the hallway.

Naruto himself was quick to pack up his belongings for a speedy getaway, but was stopped immediately by a gloved hand. Naruto looked up annoyingly at his teacher who managed to move silently in Naruto's path.

"Aren't you going to ask me how to get a copy of the book?"

"No."

"But you'll fail my exam."

Naruto sent Kakashi a sharp glare, trying vainly to reach over his tall teacher to the doorknob behind him. "So?"

"Well, maybe we should discuss where your studies—"

"I don't have time for this, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto huffed, and crossed his arms over his chest.

Kakashi shrugged, letting his hand fall to the side and brought the book back to to his chest. "You're right, my mistake. In fact, you're almost out of time, aren't you?"

Naruto's head snapped up and his body went rigid. He didn't turn to face Kakashi. "What do you mean?"

Behind him, he heard Kakashi's feet shuffle to the chalkboard, and the itching sounds of white chalk on grainy chalkboard with only seconds in between the each written letter. From the corner of his eye, Naruto glanced at the board.

_ORANGE – VITALITY WITH ENDURANCE _

Naruto slammed the door shut behind him.

* * *

He couldn't focus on anything after that. Naruto just kept on repeating the same scene in his head over and over again. The most obvious was Kakashi's reference to his gem. But there was no immediate explanation for why Kakashi would either be interested or care about the partnership. In all aspects, Kakashi was a regular teacher who enjoyed doing the bare minimum of most things. He rarely spoke to Naruto unless to tease. But the more Naruto searched his brain to try to remember anything that had to do with Kakashi in the last week or so, the more confused he became.

With all of these loose ends pounding on his senses, focusing on school became irrelevant. He took his first opportunity at lunch to go and hunt down Kakashi for answers himself in the teacher's Main Hall.

In the room, the offices were more like cubicles, with a winding maze of teachers sitting at their desk in-between teaching classes, where they slept, ate a quick snack, or in Kakashi's case, watched pornography on the school-issued computers. Naruto didn't often go to see teachers, even when specifically requested. There were very few times Naruto could actually remember coming this way, but none were as important as this.

It was also strange for him, considering that none of the other teachers had actually expected to ever see Naruto seeking out a conversation with a teacher. The entire short walk to Kakashi's desk was filled with awkward stares and trailed off sentences by teachers who accidentally would catch his gaze.

And sure enough, after a bit more winding, Naruto found his lazy teacher in a deep slumber with his erotic novel covering his face. Without wasting any time on pleasantries, Naruto slammed a fist down on the desk, smirking slightly when Kakashi violently jumped awake.

"Oh—Naruto, is that you? Are you finally coming for a copy of the book?" Kakashi said, maybe half-yawning even, but the mask on his face prevented Naruto from being fully sure.

"No. That note," Naruto voice dipped low to a hiss, "just what the hell were you trying to say earlier?"

Kakashi eyed him for a moment before his gaze dropped down to the gem dangling from Naruto's neck. "It's a beautiful color, really," His fingers only allowed to gently brushed the gem before Naruto snatched himself backward, sending Kakashi a sharp glare as he straightened his posture. He watched warily as Kakashi's attention immediately diverted to finding some papers on his desk. He noticed briefly that the eyes of other teachers were still watching the interaction between the two of them.

The papers Kakashi found in his hand were all dyed in silly colors—yellow, purple, orange. Some with bold print, others with fine, no images. All text. It was information. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows together. "What is this?"

"These," Kakashi said, clearing his throat. "contain what you've been looking for."

Naruto's eyes widened. "How did you—"

Kakashi cut him off with a silent finger to his lips. His eyes glanced around the somewhat noisy room, making direct eye contact with the teachers that Naruto had noticed before watching them. Soon, they were free from any prying eyes. Kakashi's hand withdrew, and then he spoke softly.

"Tsunade and Shizune were concerned about your frequent visits to the nurses' room. It was surprising when I had heard, considering I never would've taken you as an active member of the Uchiha's fan club." Kakashi's eyes curled upward in amusement when Naruto growled, as he continued. "And besides that, your health and exuberance is starting to dwindle itself down, and it's very plain to see for anyone who'll look. The predicament you are setting yourself up for is very clear."

Naruto cautiously eyed the papers in Kakashi's hand and the older man's face, at how quickly it had gone from playful to serious. His own eyes narrowed.

"What does it have to do with you?"

"Not very much at all," Kakashi shrugged, pushing the papers into Naruto's hand. "But every few years we see one stubborn kid just like you, bending rules and believing there is no consequence." Here, his voice lowered to a whisper, "But be warned, Uzumaki, there is a consequence. Not just for you, but the people who are now involved with you."

"You mean Sasuke." There was no inflection.

"The boy suffers from a disease, and it will worsen the longer you wait to act. That is the truth of this whole thing, isn't it? In this game, Uzuamki, it all really comes down to how much you are willing to sacrifice to win the prize at the end."

Naruto looked down at the papers in hand, and met Kakashi's eye. "What if I don't want the prize?"

Seemingly finished with speaking, Kakashi's demeanor once again shifted upwards to a happy, airy mood. His back straightened and turned away from Naruto's standing form, his hands found his novel, and his eyes turned upwards, again. With a single wave of his hand, Naruto felt the cold chill of absolute dismissal.

"Then it's very simple. You'll lose."

* * *

_I have to leave it here, don't hate me. I need something to talk about next chapter, don't you think? And on that subject, what do you think? Please review!_


End file.
